Post by Desmond Darko Asiedu

I am excited to share that our third research article on Fusarium stalk rot (FSR) resistance in maize has been published in Theoretical and Applied Genetics. In this study, we investigated the genetic basis of FSR resistance in 180 testcrosses derived from an Austrian landrace "Kemater Landmais Gelb" (KE) and evaluated across four environments under artificial inoculation with Fusarium graminearum. Using GWAS based on a 600k SNP array coupled with our robust high-throughput phenotyping scale, “internode proportion”, we identified two novel QTLs on chromosomes 1 and 6 that jointly explained approximately 21% of the genotypic variation for FSR severity. Most importantly, these loci exhibited additive effects, resulting in reduced FSR disease severity when present in combination in the testcrosses. We also identified promising candidate genes involved in pathogen recognition, signal transduction, and defense responses against Fusarium graminearum, thereby expanding the current catalog of loci associated with FSR resistance. Our findings highlight the KE landrace as a valuable reservoir of resistance alleles, as it already harbors distinct QTLs associated with Gibberella ear rot resistance, and we also emphasised the importance of multi-location testing for the reliable assessment of FSR resistance. These loci represent promising targets for genomic-assisted breeding strategies aimed at developing maize varieties with enhanced resistance to FSR. A heartfelt thank you to all co-authors and collaborators, and most especially to Prof. Dr. Thomas Miedaner and Dr. Patrick Thorwarth for their invaluable mentorship, guidance, and unwavering support throughout this research journey. Article link: https://lnkd.in/egw5k3Y2